


Quiet the Noise

by WritingCreatingStorytelling



Category: Chris Evans - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-18 04:20:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4691855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingCreatingStorytelling/pseuds/WritingCreatingStorytelling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Chris Evans Oneshot. Mama and Daddy go baby formula shopping, causing insecurities to rise in the new mother’s ability to provide for their daughter. The only person who can calm the brain noise is Chris.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quiet the Noise

A low murmur followed by a small chuckle came from behind her. Heaving a heavy sigh, she reluctantly tore herself away from the overwhelming baby formulas she had been scanning on the shelves. She looked at her husband expectantly, brows raised in question, thinking he had been trying to grab her attention.

He hadn’t.

Chris was standing in the middle of the grocery aisle, holding their three month old miracle baby girl, looking all kinds of adorable. His head was ducked low and his sparkling blue eyes were barely visible underneath the Red Sox cap. It was his hopeful attempt at keeping some anonymity while out in public, desperate to have some private time with his family.

Natalia opened her mouth to ask him to repeat what he had said, but her mouth closed on it’s own accord.

He had been gone for two days, returning home yesterday after taking up meeting after meeting back in LA while she held down the fort in their Sudbury home.  She had missed his face immensely.

For weeks, he had been hesitant to leave, not wanting to miss any treasured moment with their princess. But his agent wouldn’t stop flooding his voicemail with demands, with news of great opportunities that would further his career. It had taken a conversation with a number of people– _her, his therapist, his mother, and a couple close friends_ –to give him the nudge he needed to book the plane ticket.

Now he was back, fulfilling the most important and proud role he would ever have: _being a father_.

Since returning, they had been busy getting back to their normal routine, which always began with being roused out of sleep before dawn.  Between (disappointing) feedings, (questionable) diaper changes, and (unrelenting) crying spells, it was difficult to take a breather and let the beauty of life really sink in. And although they were busy now, running errands all morning, she felt this was the first time she could really hold back for a second and appreciate the precious sight before her.

In a protective nature, Chris had his arm curled underneath the tiny angel’s diapered bottom, while his other hand was sprawled on her back. He was holding her close, pressing her against his chest, and quietly talking to her as if she understood every word.

A fleeting smile flickered on Natalia’s lips at the realization that Chris had been talking to the gurgling baby the entire time, not at her.  Surprisingly, it had temporarily eased the stress that had been forming around her tired and blurry eyes.

He was the most adorable (and sexy) daddy she had ever seen. And it had nothing to do with her being biased with the enough proof circulating the internet to back her up. Millions of proof, in fact.

It made her heart swell, witnessing something she never thought she would get to see after three failed pregnancies, and she sent up a genuine _thank-you_ to the heavens for answering their faithful prayers.

“I know, I know…she can be a pain in the butt to me, too.” Chris murmured against his daughter’s wobbling head, oblivious. 

Natalia chuckled. The bastard was badmouthing her as if she weren’t within earshot.

“Am I boring you two?” She asked, amused. 

At the sound of her mother’s familiar voice, Abby started squirming, trying to twist in Chris’s protective hold to see her.

Chris raised his head up to peer at his wife, the pink tint evident on his cheeks. With a sheepish grin, he said, “Excuse me, nosy rosy, we were having a private conversation here.”

“Oh, ex- _cuse_ me, but I believe I just caught you talking sh– _smack_ about me to our daughter.” She shot back, turning away to focus on the display.

“Nice save, potty mouth.” Chris straightened his back, gently bouncing the squirming baby against his chest in an attempt to soothe her. The tiny brunette that was the spitting image of her mother wasn’t having any of it.

“You realize we’ve been staring at formula for the past twenty minutes.” He chuckled, then added, “What was the point of googling the brands last night if you were going to do this anyway?”

“I don’t know,” Natalia whined, stretching her strained neck from side to side and wincing at the discomfort.

Although she was growing annoyed with herself, it wasn’t enough to stop her from retrieving another tub and obsessively searching the ingredients.  Everything looked the same as the other four she had looked at and it only added on to her frustration.

“I just want to make sure the ingredients are all natural and safe before I make my final decision.”

She was being ridiculous. She knew this. Chris knew it. And the baby probably even knew it, too. What it came down to was that they both had waited so long–suffered so much–to have Abby. She just wanted nothing but the best for her so she could live a long and healthy life.

She wanted, no, she _needed_ her baby to be okay.

Naturally, breastfeeding had been Natalia’s preferred choice. But the little bundle of joy was over it after six weeks, and it became more and more difficult to feed her as the weeks approached. She was even refusing the pumped bottles of the breast milk now.

The pediatrician had suggested to put her on formula at the last checkup, much to the new mother’s disappointment. Abby’s weight was worryingly dropping below the norm for her height and she wasn’t getting the correct amount of nutrients beneficial for her development.

Breastfeeding was out. Baby formula was in.

It made Natalia feel like a failure.

“I think it’s great that you care so much; and I care about her well-being, too.” Chris stopped to press a soft kiss on the fidgety baby’s head, smoothing back the short black hair that covered it. “And I know your overbearing tendencies is stemmed from your childhood but-”

“Ugh,” She groaned in interruption, forcefully putting the formula back in its place before picking up another identical to it. “ _Don’t_.”

“…you’re caring just a tad too much, babe. If it says it’s– _shhh…it’s okay, baby doll, I got you_ –organic, then I’m sure it’s fine. She will be _fine_.”

She sighed; he was right. God, she hate it when that happened.

“Okay, okay,” Natalia agreed, grabbing the tub of formula she had originally picked up over twenty minutes ago. “We’ll go with this one, I guess.”

Unexpectedly, without any control, the tears started pricking her eyes.

_Damn these stupid hormones._

She kept her back towards the two loves of her life, in hopes he couldn’t sense the embarrassment and the helplessness that was consuming her; the anxiety beginning to painfully constrict her chest. 

Chris noticed instantly. He always could. The slight curve of her shoulders and the change in her breathing gave her away every time. 

She felt him shift closer until he was right in her peripheral vision. “Hey, what’s wrong, baby?”

And because of the gentle way he approached her, the genuine love and concern he always showed for her, the shield she had been holding up for the past few weeks came down.

Turning frantically to him, everything that was bottled up exploded past her lips. “I hate this. I really fu- _freaking_ hate this. I just wanted to be a good mother, Chris; break the cycle created by my own shi- _stupid_ mother. She’s not even four months old and my baby already hates me!”

His brows furrowed together in confusion, his own chest tightening at the sight of his wife unraveling. “ _Hates_ you? Baby..” He looked down at his daughter’s big brown eyes that was filled with frustrating tears from not being in her mother’s embrace and his heart galloped in his chest. Both of his girls were having a moment. “Look at her. She’s been dying to get out of my arms ever since she heard mama’s voice. She doesn’t hate you; she _adores_ you.”

Chris offered the little rugrat to Natalia and she immediately took Abby in her loving arms after depositing the formula in the empty basket at her feet.

Abby instantly calmed down, laying her head in the crook of her mother’s neck and sighing contently. 

Natalia sniffled, swallowing through the ball in her throat. “See,” she heard Chris say in a low reassuring tone, “Now that doesn’t appear to be someone who hates you. You’re worrying too much, sweetheart.”

Her tearful eyes flitted to him and the worry reflected in them made her feel foolish and guilty. She knew he hated seeing her like this; she knew it pained him. And she hated doing this to him, too. Sometimes, she just couldn’t help the troubling thoughts.

Briefly shutting her eyes, she tried to shut them out. But it didn’t work. Her throat began to close up as the insecurities found their way to the surface. “Why won’t she take my milk, Chris? What am I doing wrong?”

As soon as her voice cracked, Chris laid a hand over his heart and cocked his head to one side. He shook his head, “You’re not doing anything wrong. You heard the doctor. Sometimes they just don’t take to it, no matter how strict you are with the diet. It has nothing to do with you.”

Quickly checking on the now sleeping baby, Natalia’s fears played even more wild. “And what if this is foreshadowing to our future relationship? I can’t bear the thought of having the same mother daughter relationship as-”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Chris interjected, placing his hands firmly on her tense shoulders. Bringing his lips to her temple, he began to soothe her. “Shhh…”

His beard against her sensitive skin was oddly comforting.

She knew what he was doing. He was trying to banish the damaging fears away. He was trying to center her, bring her back to present. 

Stubbornly, she said, “What if-”

“Just shhh…shhhh…”

The pair stood that way in the middle of the baby aisle for a few minutes, Chris demanding her mind to shut up and Natalia focusing on matching the pattern of his breathing to calm her racing heart, while their daughter was nestled between them, so innocent and free from the pressures of life.

She could never understand how he was always able to do it, but after a while, everything stopped.  Her mind quieted down, her chest now light and her stomach no longer churning.

It was just her, him, and their little angel. _Her family_. 

A big smile spread wide across her face.  She felt blessed to have them; to have this. Everything was okay. Would always be okay. As long as they had each other.

“I love you.”

Chris matched his wife’s smile as he gazed down at her short frame. “There’s my girl. I love you, too.”  He pecked her welcoming mouth once, twice, and once more for good luck.

“You know what I want right now?”

This was their thing; the question that followed every mini attack, whether it was voiced from him or her. It was their way of staying in the present, going after what was needed in that moment; no matter how silly it was. 

“Hm?” He hummed, tugging on the ponytail that was trailing down her back. It reminded her that she really could use a haircut. She shook her head at the thought. That could wait. Right now, she needed something else. 

“A double cheeseburger loaded with mayo.”

His startled–and amused–boisterous laugh jolted Abby awake, like it always did. But as soon as she recognized the noise, her eyes fluttered once more before she drifted off to sleep. 

Chris kissed Natalia’s cheek, then he bent forward and scooped up the hand basket. “C'mon..”

“Where we going?” She asked with a grin glued to her face, following his direction towards the check-out. 

“Getting my girl a damn cheeseburger.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! xx


End file.
